Supply Chain Management
Basic Concept
In order to realize high-quality manufacturing and a sustainable society, we conduct procurement activities in cooperation with partner companies (suppliers).
Basic Procurement Policy
The following is our Basic Procurement Policy:
1.Fair and Equitable Dealings
We provide open, fair, and equitable opportunities to suppliers inside and outside Japan wishing to conduct business with us. In selecting suppliers, we will take into consideration quality, cost, delivery schedules, the ability of the supplier to provide a stable supply, technological strength and know-how, the financial position of the supplier, and other factors.
2.Developing Relationships of Mutual Trust
We respect free competition and aim to deepen our relationships of trust with all suppliers through fair business transactions.
3.Promotion of Developmental Procurement
We promote developmental procurement in order to cooperate with our suppliers in reducing costs as much as possible. We welcome and evaluate new proposals from suppliers who wish to provide their extensive and specialized knowledge and know-how, new technologies and products.
4.Legal Compliance (safeguarding of confidential information)
We comply with all laws and regulations related to procurement in both letter and spirit. We do not disclose any sales or technical information we receive in the course of our procurement activities with suppliers to third parties without the consent of the supplier.
5.Prioritizing the Environment (Green Procurement)
We understand that the conservation of the Earth's environment is one of the highest priorities for humankind. It is our basic policy to procure environmentally friendly materials.
6.Conflict Minerals
In order to fulfill our corporate social responsibility in procurement activities, we will cooperate with our suppliers to ensure transparency in the supply chain and avoid the use of conflict minerals as a financial resource for armed groups, in accordance with Article 1502 of the Financial Regulatory Reform Act (Dodd-Frank Act) enacted in the United States in July 2010.
Initiatives for Sustainable Procurement
In recent years, the need to respond to global environmental and energy issues has become more serious, and we have seen the birth of an advanced information-oriented society, so the demands on companies are growing and becoming more diverse. Against that backdrop, our aim at the Tsubaki Group, under our Corporate Philosophy of “TSUBAKI SPIRIT,” is to provide, as a manufacturing company, value that exceeds the expectations of society, and to become a company that continues to be required by society.
Throughout our history, we have fulfilled our social responsibilities as a company while simultaneously advancing Companywide efforts to solve social issues by strengthening our response to a variety of business continuity risks and promoting technological innovation. Going forward, we will solve social issues through our business activities in pursuit of our goal of contributing to the creation of a sustainable society. To this end, as we must promote further cooperation with our suppliers, we have established the Tsubaki Group Supplier Sustainability Guidelines, in which we ask suppliers to undertake proactive initiatives with the aim of achieving sustainability.
Regarding conflict minerals, the guidelines indicate our basic procurement policy to “implement measures to ensure the transparency of the supply chain of mineral resources used in materials and components to avoid the use of disputed minerals that might fund armed groups.” In accordance with guidance manuals on investigating conflict minerals, we request the suppliers concerned to carry out an investigation and complete and publish a Conflict Minerals Reporting Template.
Promotion of Green Procurement
We established our Green Procurement Guidelines in 2006 and have worked together with suppliers to promote activities for purchasing materials and components with low environmental impact. In April 2019, we revised these guidelines in order to more proactively advance efforts to reduce emissions.
We also carry out surveys on the current environmental performance of major suppliers and conduct additional surveys and local inspections of suppliers thought to face risks, as we work to achieve ongoing improvements.
Requests to Business Partners
| Requests/Orders | Raw materials, parts, packaging materials, sub-materials, etc. |
Jigs, tools, production equipment, etc. |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Prerequisite | (1) Compliance with environment-related laws on products and business activities | Required | Required |
| (2) Management of hazardous chemical substances | Recommended* | ||
| What we ask of business partners | (1) Establishment of an environmental management system | Recommended | Recommended |
| (2) Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions | |||
| (3) Promotion of resource recycling | |||
| (4) Effective use of water resources | Optional | Optional | |
| (5) Environment-friendly design and product proposals | Recommended | Recommended |
* Management of hazardous chemical substances is required in the event of hazardous chemical substances scattering or falling from equipment onto products or in the event of hazardous chemical substances becoming attached to or transferred onto products through contact with equipment.
Cooperation with Suppliers
Since FY 2021, the Tsubaki Group has been implementing carbon neutral initiatives throughout our supply chain.
In the first year of these initiatives, we presented our major suppliers with our first online seminar on carbon neutrality. We highlighted trends regarding carbon neutrality in Japan and around the world as well as the Group’s policies, targets, and methods of reducing CO2 emissions. We also conducted a written survey to ascertain the state of CO2 reduction initiatives among our suppliers.
In the future, we will ask our suppliers to calculate their CO2 emissions and strengthen their emissions reduction efforts according to their activity levels. We will also work to achieve carbon neutrality throughout our supply chain.
Ultimately, we will integrate climate change-related risks and opportunities into our supply chain management to build a sustainable and robust supply chain.
Implementation of Sustainable Training to Procurement Staff
At Group training sessions, the Tsubaki Techno School lectures, and in level-specific education, we carry out education on topics that include approaches to sustainability (CSR and CSV), demands from international society, and Group initiatives.
